Vilify
by Sparky Leia
Summary: The after effects after, Parker being kidnapped. Rated T for mentions of assault, but not graphic.
1. Vilify

_This is my first story, and I do want criticism alongside complements. I don't own any characters. _

**Updated_._**

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Sophie closed the door to her apartment. She placed her groceries down on the table and started to put them up. Her body tensed when she felt a slight breeze. She grabbed the closest object she could use for a weapon and cased the room. Finding nothing, she placed the knife down and went back to the food. Once finished she made herself some Greek yogurt and slumped down on her lavender couch.

"Where's the bloody remote?" she asked herself as she searched for the controller.

She found it inside the cushion she was sitting on. She turned on the TV and surfed through the channels. Frowning, when she found that nothing was on. She grabbed a magazine and flipped through the pages.

"Amelia needs to do her hair better," she scoffed about the model.

She got up and washed out her bowl. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she turned around. Tears started forming as waves of emotion came over her.

"Parker?" the question drifted in the air.

The young blonde stared at the woman. Her whole body was dead. Everything was lacking emotion. She slid down a corner, and pulled herself into a ball. Sophie looked at the thief in shock as Parker buried her face in her knees.

"Y-You're alive."


	2. Revile

_Thanks for the review, review some more. _

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Parker clenched her fists, and glared at the woman when she moved towards her. Sophie stopped. She didn't want to scare her. As Sophie was contemplating on how to handle the situation the young thief started to cry. Sophie blinked away her own tears. She had to control herself not to rush over to hug her.

"Can I hold you?" Parker shook her head. Sophie sat down. Moments later the blonde crawled over to seek her comfort. "It's okay," Sophie reassured.

Parker wept. Her whole body was shaking. Sophie rubbed Parker's back soothingly. When Sophie's phone rang Parker pushed the woman away and pulled herself back into a ball. Sophie got up and answered.

"What?" she questioned angrily.

Nate was on the other end. "Soph, where are you? You were supposed to be here an hour ago."

"I need you to come over," she turned towards the young woman. "It's about Parker. No questions, just come."

Sophie hung up the phone before Nate can respond and went back to the blonde. Parker was now in the corner of the room. Sophie slowly approached but made sure there was enough room for Parker to escape. Silence took over the room until Nate knocked at the front door. Parker flinched at the sudden noise. Sophie went over and opened it. The rest of the team came in.

"Did you find something?" Nate asked.

Eliot scanned over the room for a sign of anything out of place. Hardison stood silently between the two.

"Parker…she's here," Hardison now was the one searching the room, finding her in the corner. "Wait, Hardison. I think we should let her get comfortable before we storm in there. We don't know what they did to her."

Hardison looked over the blonde and she shifted uncomfortably.

"Did she tell you anything?" Nate asked.

Sophie shook her head. "She haven't said anything."

Eliot looked towards Parker and their eyes connected. Parker was staring at him with fear. She backed further in the corner. Eliot frowned at the persona she had of him. He was the protector of the team and yet he couldn't profile the mark.

"So, what do we do?" Eliot asked the mastermind.

"We have to get a profile of the people who took her," Nate said. "I think she might be more comfortable with Sophie asking her about it."

"I'll go ask her if she wants to stay the night," Sophie said before doubtfully going over to the blonde. Parker peered at her. "Do you want to go home?"

Parker quickly shook her head, "I-I don't want to be a-alone," Parker whispered.

Sophie gave her a weak smile, "Okay, I'll have one of the guys get bunny for you. Why won't we set you up in my room first."

Sophie extended her hand and Parker skittishly took it. Nate and Hardison went to Parker's house to grab some of her stuff while Eliot guarded Sophie's door.

The team was still on edge. Maybe she escaped and the kidnappers were looking for her? No one knew exactly what happened. All they knew was that she wouldn't just run off especially without her bunny.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Sophie asked.

Parker played with her shirt. "I don't want to talk about what they did."

"Okay, we don't have to but can I ask you if you got a good look of them?"

Parker shifted and pulled herself back into a fetal position. "T-The one who grabbed me was tall but I didn't really see his face."

Sophie nodded. "Was the mark there?" Parker shrugged. "How many were they?"

Parker started rocking back and forth, "I-I don't w-want to talk about th-this anymore." Sophie tried to comfort her again. "Don't touch me!"

Parker slapped the woman and crabbed crawled into Sophie's closet. Sophie held her face in pain, while Parker shivered in fear.


	3. Bad-Mouthing

**_Thanks for the reviews, the views, favorites, and follows._**

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Eliot knocked on the door after hearing all the commotion.

"Sophie, is everything okay?" he asked.

Sophie opened the door and pushed passed him. He looked in the room to see the blonde gone.

"Where's Parker?"

Sophie grabbed an ice pack. "In my closet," she huffed, "My face is going to hurt for hours."

He chuckled slightly. "She slapped you didn't she?"

"Shut up," Sophie iced her face.

His smile went away quickly. "How is she?" Sophie gave him a sad look. "Did she see any of them?"

Sophie shrugged. "Probably but she doesn't want to talk. They must've removed the blindfold when they were," she paused, "I don't think I'm the best person to be talking to her."

"Who else then? If that rabbit could talk he'll be our first choice. She won't be comfortable talking to anyone else."

Sophie rubbed her tongue against the inside of her mouth, groaning when she felt the bruise.

"Maybe you should try."

Eliot raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, and then she'll claw my eyes out."

"Parker, always saw you as a big brother. Maybe she'll still think of you like that."

"Let's not take that chance right now," Eliot pulled away her hand and examined the bruise.

He grinned but didn't say anything. Parker lurked near the doorway to the bedroom. Eliot looked over her body for any physical signs of harm.

"Why did you leave me?" she asked Sophie.

The woman put the ice pack down. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. I thought you wanted to be alone for a second."

Parker started to panic when she noticed the man gaze at her body. "Can we go back in your room?"

"Wait, let's eat something. When was the last time you ate?" Parker shrugged. "Well I think I have some Rocket O's in here. I started eating it a lot lately."

Sophie poured a bowl of the cereal and handed it over to the thief. Parker was still looking at Eliot as she sat down at the island. Parker splashed the spoon in the milk.

"I'm not really hungry," Parker voice was shaking as she continued to peer at the man on the corner of her eye. "Please, Sophie. I want to go back in the room."

Eliot moved back to make her more comfortable but Parker couldn't stop shaking, her eyes tearing up.

"I'm going to go in the front room. Tell me when you need me, Sophie," he said before walking out.

"I-I can't breath," Parker cried.


	4. Quibble

_**Thanks to my new beta, Gilbert H. Karr who's an amazing beta, I actually finished this chapter**_

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Sophie hesitantly walked over. "Can I help?" Parker nodded. "Okay, you're having a panic attack. Follow my breathing and I'll count with you. Breathe in for me."

Parker stared at the woman's stomach and tried to mimic her breathing. Sophie smiled when the wheezing went down to steady breaths.

"That's good, Parker. No one is here to hurt you anymore. I promise," Sophie said calmly. Once the thief was calm Sophie held her. "Do you want to talk about what caused you to panic?"

Parker shrugged and pushed the bowl away. She started back to Sophie's bedroom but then stopped. Sophie stared at her with confusion.

"You okay?" Sophie asked.

Parker's hands began to twitch. "I-I don't want to go in there anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to," she snapped.

"Okay, where do you want to go?"

Parker sat back down at the counter, and buried her face into the crook of her elbow.

"Can I hold you?" Parker nodded and Sophie walked over. "Did you have a flashback?" Parker didn't respond. "Was it in the bedroom?" Parker nodded. "Did they make you do things in there?" Parker shifted. "They did didn't they?"

Parker pushed Sophie against the wall, forcing her arm against her throat.

"You don't con me. You don't con me into to telling you stuff!"

Eliot pulled Parker off of the woman. Parker cowered into a corner causing more worry to the grifter.

"I can handle myself, Eliot. You're going to make her more scared."

"She was choking you, Sophie," Eliot growled.

"She wasn't going to kill me."

Eliot sighed. "We don't know if what she went through changed her."

He looked at her sadly. The all turned to the knock at the door.

Eliot opened the door to the hacker and the mastermind. They both were carrying a box. Hardison sat his down on the coffee table, while Nate placed his on the floor next to the door.

"Sophie?" Nate called out.

"Hold on." Sophie used a tone to tell him to back off. She eased her way to, Parker. "Hun, you can't stay in that corner forever."

Parker shook her head. "Please, I want to be alone."

"I tell you what, if you want to have bunny, you have to come out in the living room with everyone else. You can't keep cramping yourself in corners the entire day."

Parker shook her head again. "No, just give me bunny. I don't want to be out there."

"I would make sure they all stay a far distance from you. I promise no one will hurt you." Parker didn't answer. "Do you trust me, Parker?"

"Yes."

"Then come on."

There was a pause but then Parker got up. She stiffly walked over to Sophie and they joined the team in the living room.

Parker looked down at her sneakers. The guys made sure to give her some space as she went into the boxes. She grabbed a sweatshirt and jeans. She tensed when she saw underwear, knowing that they went through her top drawer to get it, but then she continued. She placed it all next to her and then took her brown bunny out.

"Who got my bunny?"

"Hardison," Nate said.

Parker turned to the hacker. "T-Thank you."

"No problem," his voice filled with excitement in it. "I brought some movies if you want to watch some?"

Parker played with the rabbit's ears, ignoring him as she seeked comfort in the familiar face.

"Sophie can you come in the bathroom with me?" Parker asked.

The grifter looked at her with bafflement. "Parker, are you sure you're okay with me being in there?"

Parker bit her lip. "I want someone there. I don't want to be alone with myself."

Sophie grabbed the girl's clothes. "You can't bring that bunny in the water."

Parker let the corners of her mouth turn up slightly but then the smile forming quickly went away. Sophie ran the bath water. She poured in some bath salts and her mixture of bath soap.

"Can you turn around?" Parker asked.

Sophie faced the door as the blonde got undressed and climbed in the tub.

"Parker, where did they hold you?" Sophie asked.

Parker pulled her knees to her chest to cover up her body more than the bubbles were. "I don't remember."

Sophie brushed her hair behind her ears, playing with the stuffed rabbit. "I understand this is hard for you and I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important. We need your help if we're going to catch these guys. Okay?"

Parker nodded. "My head and my stomach always hurt whenever I think about it. Everyone and everything reminds me of them and when I get reminded of them I'll remember the things they did," she tightened her grip on her legs.

"We can go slow. If you want to stop you can. If you don't want to talk about something then tell me, okay?" Parker nodded, looking down at the bubbles.


	5. Abuse

**_Thanks again to my beta Gilbert H. Karr he's amazing at what he do, and for the many R&amp;R. This may have triggers for some, but it's not really graphic. _**

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"Do you remember the car?"

"It was a red truck like, Eliot's. They sat me on the floor. I couldn't see anyone because the tall guy put a blindfold on me."

"What about the car ride?"

"It was long, and my head kept hitting against the floor because the car kept going over bumps in the road," Parker shifted. "We stopped all of a sudden and someone picked me up. They carried me into another car, a van because I had a lot of room to move. Someone then. . .I want to stop." Parker paused to take a breath. "Can we skip this part?" Sophie nodded. "We stopped again and someone carried me into a building. They sat me on a couch and then took the blindfold off."

"Was it a house or an abandoned building?" Sophie asked.

"A house. We were in the living room. There was a barn next to us. I heard horses."

"Can you describe the barn?"

Parker's breathing started to pick up but she calmed herself down. "It was like a normal barn. It was red and white. They had baby oak trees leading down the pathway," she smirked at the imaginary scenery.

"Did you ever go inside?" Parker nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?" Parker shook her head and rested her chin on her knees. "Describe the living room for me."

"It was kinda like your living room. Everything was elegant and the furniture looked expensive. I could see the kitchen. It was big too and looked like the living room."

"What about the rest of the house?"

"The same. They had those old tubs in each bathroom with a large shower. I couldn't go in the bedrooms."

"Was there anything distinctive about the house?"

Parker shifted, nodding. "The barn. It had a skylight going from the wall to the ceiling. And a large window where you could see the house from."

"Can you describe any of the people who were in and out of the house the entire time you was there?"

Parker nodded again. "It was only four. Two guys and a woman that I never saw before, plus the mark. The woman was around my age. She had light brown hair and hazel eyes. She always had her hair in a ponytail except when she was. . ." the blonde stopped, closing her eyes, "Sometimes she wore it down. She had freckles all over her body and face. The tall guy was in his late twenties. He was fit and had a beard. He had red hair and blue eyes. The other guy looked very young maybe seventeen. He always wore a hat over his dark brown hair. He had brown eyes."

"How did you escape?"

Parker started shaking, "It was night time. The young guy was in the barn with me," she played with her hands. "I broke a handle from a bucket earlier and I stabbed him with it. I stole the keys from his jeans, and drove the car down to a gas station. I thought they would come after me so, I um, got a ride from some truck driver. He bought me some new clothes and shoes in cash, then dropped me off near your house. I walked the rest of the way just in case they followed the driver."

"How long was all of this?"

"It took maybe an hour to get to the gas station. And two hours to get near your house, plus another thirty minutes of walking. The gas station had a glowing green sign. I wasn't paying attention to read the words."

"Thanks, Parker. This helps a lot. We can find the people who did this to you. I promise you that."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she muttered.

Sophie placed the bunny down. "I'm going to make sure they will literally burn straight to hell. Do you understand?" Parker gave her a smirk. "Come on. We can give this information to Hardison so he can track them down."


	6. Attack

**_Same thing as last chapter, this may be triggering for some. Also is a spoiler to Doctor Who's A Good Man Goes to War &amp; Battle of Demon's Run. So, "Spoilers"._**

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Parker grabbed her towel. "I-I don't want Eliot there."

"He's not going to hurt you," Parker shook her head. "Okay, I'll tell him."

Sophie turned around as Parker got dressed and then they headed towards the front room. Parker didn't look up from her converse, gawking at the laces.

"Hey, you ready?" Nate asked.

Parker looked up to see the hitter only a few feet away from her. She gripped Sophie's sweater. Eliot looked at the woman sadly.

"Parker, I'm not going to hurt you," Sophie motioned for the man to leave.

He grumbled but walked into the kitchen. Nate moved over so the two girls could sit down. Hardison sat on other the side of them and brought out his laptop. Sophie handed him the notes she took of what the young blonde was saying. Hardison blocked out his feelings while reading the details. He referenced the person in the notes as someone else. He didn't want to think about the things that happened in the barn.

He started to look for the description of the building. "Parker, can you draw a picture of the people while I search for the house?"

Parker nodded and the team got started. Hardison typed away, searching for every barn house in a hundred mile radius while Parker drew the four people. Nate and Sophie talked to each other in the kitchen while Eliot made dinner with agitation.

"Did she talk about the things they did to her?"

Sophie shook her head as she sipped some of her coffee. "Not much. I don't want to push her."

"Eliot told me she tried to choke you."

"He needs to back off from her." Eliot swore under his breath as he stirred the soup. "I know you're trying to help but Parker is scared of you. Maybe you remind her of one of the guys who hurt her," she said directly to the hitter. She sniffed the coffee Nate was drinking. "You didn't offer me anything."

He grinned and pulled the flask from his pocket. Eliot served the cream of mushroom soup in small bowls.

"Guys come eat!" he yelled to the two in the front room.

Parker flinched at the scream. "You coming?" Hardison asked the blonde.

Parker gave him a weak smile. "I'll catch up."

She held her stomach in pain. She took in a deep breath and walked into the kitchen. Eliot turned to her. He gave her a smile but it made her back away. She forced herself to sit down. She stared at the man out of the corner of her eye. Sophie smiled at that; Parker was making an effort.

Eliot took the last seat next to the blonde. "Hey, Parker."

She shifted. "I'm gonna work on the sketches," she said as she took her bowl into the front room.

Eliot frowned. "All I said was hey. I'm not even doing anything."

"Just give her some time," Sophie said.

She joined Parker in the front room. Eliot did the dishes once everyone was finished with their food. Nate was helping Hardison track down the people in the sketches the thief finished. Sophie went to sleep with Parker, who was curled up next to her on the three-seated couch, while Parker pretended like she was asleep. She knew that Sophie was tired. The mother like woman would've stayed up longer, waiting for the blonde to go to sleep.

"I can't find them anywhere. It's like they wiped themselves off the face of the earth. I tried traffic camera's, ATMs—basically anything with a camera I checked and they're nowhere. The mark was here yesterday and now he's gone. He wiped every single thing about himself for the past two years. What am I going to tell Parker?" Hardison whispered so he wouldn't wake up what he thought were two sleeping women.

Nate shrugged. "We'll figure it out in the morning. The meantime we should stay with Sophie to help out with Parker."

Hardison grabbed a blanket and settled back down on his chair. Eliot hovered in the balcony, while Nate slept in Sophie's room. The hitter scanned the area for anyone who might look like the people Parker described. Parker went into the kitchen. She looked at the hitter on the balcony but she was quiet enough to get what she needed without him noticing. She went back into the front room and quietly crept to the sleeping hacker. He was snoring silently.

She touched his cheek. He turned but didn't wake up. Parker didn't see him as much of a threat. She knew he was stronger than she and he could probably kill her instantly, but she couldn't see him hurting her. She smiled when his snores grew louder. She poked at his face again.

His eyes opened quickly. He searched the room for any danger but just saw the blonde staring at him.

"Parker, what's the matter?" he asked.

She shifted. "Y-You can't find them."

"Why would you say," he stopped, "Parker, I will find them."

Parker played with her sweatshirt. "What if you don't?"

"Baby girl, I will find them," he turned towards Sophie. The woman turned in her sleep. "Why are you up?"

Parker shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. Images flashed through my head everytime I closed my eyes."

"Of what they did?" Parker nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she said without hesitation.

"Do you want to sit with me? I can talk with you until you fall asleep."

Parker bit her lip. She grabbed her bunny and climbed onto his lap. She hooked herself around his body. He held back his grin. He didn't want to let her to associate this with intimacy.

"Tell me when you get uncomfortable, okay?" Parker nodded. "Parker, you know that what happened to you isn't your fault?" she nodded again. "That's good because it's their fault. They did this to you and you could not have prevented it. Eliot couldn't even tell that the mark wanted more than money."

He pulled the blanket over them. "Why couldn't Eliot tell?" Parker asked.

"I don't know. Sometimes people mess up, even Eliot."

Parker frowned. "It's his fault. All of this happened because he didn't do his job," she said coldly.

"Parker, no it's not. It's Liam Sparrow's. Eliot did not take you. He didn't hurt you. Liam and his team did those things to you. They hurt you not Eliot. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Parker played with her bunny. "I want to talk about something else."

Hardison sighed. "Yeah, sure, what do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know."

He pulled her closer towards his chest when she started slipping. "Who gave you bunny?"

Parker smiled at the raggedy rabbit. "One of my therapists. She was nice. She didn't really help me but she did talk to me since I didn't have any friends. I guess she was my friend. I had to move to another foster home, so I had to stop seeing her."

"How old were you?"

Parker played with the bunny's ear. "Ten. It was my first stuffed animal in a long time. The stuffed animals my mom gave me were gone. One of my foster moms burned them. She burned all off my things. She said she was my new mommy and that I was going to form new memories with her."

"I'm sorry," he noticed the woman clutch her stomach. "Did she ever hurt you?"

"What's happening with Doctor Who?" Parker asked.

He looked at her for a moment. He knew it was tough for her to talk about things that happened in her foster homes. After everything, he knew not to push on.

"So, in the new episode The Doctor forms like this army with Rory because Amy was taken by the Silence and Madame Kovarian, and she is now given birth. They get a Silurian—who are the green scaly people—named Vastra and her maid, Jenny; a Sontaran, the potato looking people, named Strax, and a big blue man named, Dorium Maldovar. And the six of them go down to Demon's Run to get Amy and the baby. Then the biggest plot twist happens. River Song is Amy's daughter," he said excitedly.

Parker played with the man's shirt. "Who's River Song"

"Babe, I told you. The blonde curly haired lady. Remember?" Parker shrugged. "You be cutting me deep, woman."

She giggled. "You want to watch it?"

"Yeah," he practically screamed.

Parker jumped up and grabbed his laptop. "What episode do you want to watch?"

She climbed on his lap and scooted so he could see the screen. He clicked on a random episode and fell asleep thirty minutes in. Parker frowned. She sat the laptop on the coffee table and cuddled up next to the man. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her causing her to tense.

"You're going to be a good girl," Liam Sparrow whispered.

Parker held her head in pain. "Please, go away," She cried.

"Why, you're acting like you don't want me here. I know you enjoyed yourself."

Parker shook her head. She crawled under the table, shivering. "Please, leave me alone!" She screamed.

Everyone woke up. Sophie and Hardison went over to her.

"Why would I want to leave you alone when I can have so much fun with you."

Parker cried. "No, please. I'll do anything. Please, don't," she begged.

"Honey, it's not real. It's in your head. No one is here to hurt you," Sophie pleaded.

Eliot and Nate came in the room. Parker froze at the sight of the hitter.

"Eliot, leave now," Sophie said.

The hitter sighed. Before he could leave Parker started vomiting all over the floor. Sophie rushed to her.

"Get away from me!" Parker yelled.

Parker came from under the table and stabbed the woman in the side. The blonde held the knife as she rocked back and forth. Hardison was going to rush over to the grifter but Eliot motioned for him to stay still. The hitter circled around the thief. Parker glared at him but Nate started to come closer. Now her full attention was on the mastermind.

"Please, no. I'll be better. I promise," Parker told him.

Parker was about to lunge at Nate when he kept moving towards her but Eliot quickly grabbed her. He yanked the knife away from her and tossed the blade to the side. Parker started to screamed.

"Keep screaming. You're making me want you more." Liam chuckled.


	7. Exploit

Eliot held her tightly as she squirmed. "Parker, he's not here. Liam is not here. Look around you, Parker. Where is he?"

The blonde couldn't see the man but then she saw the red haired man. She flailed to get Eliot to stop holding her.

"Let me go!" Parker begged.

He held her tighter. "Parker, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you."

Nate was trying to cater to Sophie's wounds but the woman was moving too much.

"Eliot, let her go now. You're going to hurt her." Sophie whispered weakly.

Hardison was helping Nate apply pressure to Sophie's wound as Parker clawed at Eliot's arms.

"Sophie, please help me," Parker cried.

"Nate, wrap a tight bandage around Sophie," Eliot yelled.

He dragged the thrashing blonde into the kitchen to get her away from all the scene that was slowly unraveling.

Parker wept as she squirmed to get out of his grip. "Please, Liam. I'll be good. Please, don't."

Eliot gently sat her down on the floor. She tried to run for the knives but he yanked her back to where he sat her.

"Parker, I am not Liam."

"I can be anything you want me to be," The voice in her head said.

Parker backed away. "Get away!"

Eliot put his hands out and crouched to her level. Parker lashed out at him but he grabbed her wrists.

"Listen to me, Parker. He is not here. Liam is not in this room, nor was he in the front room."

"No. I am definitely not here." Liam laughed.

Parker fell into a fetal position. "I want to die. Please, just kill me already," she wept.

"Honey, no. I can help you. Just listen to me," she tried to put her hands over her ears, but Eliot grabbed her arms and forced her to look at him. "Parker, close your eyes."

"Close your eyes and remember all things we did together."

"No," Parker tugged at her arms.

He shook his head. "Parker, you need to trust me," Parker was hesitant but she listened. She closed her eyes and the memories ran through her head. "Slowly breathe," Parker slowly breathed in and out. "That's good. Now tell me what you see?"

"He's hurting me," Parker cried.

He nodded. "Open your eyes. Where is he?"

Parker didn't see the man. "H-He's not here."

"Close your eyes," she closed them again. "What do you see?"

Parker started to see the man again. "Liam's on me."

Eliot tried not to think about what the man was doing to the blonde. "Open, and tell me what you see now."

"He's gone," her body started to relax.

"Parker, now who did you just stab?"

"L-Li...Sophie. I didn't mean to, I swear."

Eliot nodded. "I know. Liam wasn't really here. It was all a hallucination."

"But I could hear him say things that he didn't say."

"It wasn't real. He never said it. Your mind was making it all up."

He let her go and she pulled her knees to her chest.

"I don't want Sophie to hate me."

He shook his head. "Parker, she knows that it was an accident." Parker buried her face in her knees. "It will make her feel better to know that you're there."

Parker looked up at him. She then stiffly stood up and nodded. Eliot grabbed Sophie some clothes and then went into the front room where Parker was waiting. Parker cringed at the woman as the grifter grew pale. Eliot called his navy friend, Ryan.

"Yeah, hey," they could hear someone on the other end. "I know what time it is, it's not like you're sleep. I need your help sewing up a knife wound for my friend," the person on the other end agreed. "Thanks, I owe you. I'll be there in ten."

Nate carried the woman as the team followed behind their leader, gettin in Lucille. Parker shook as she watched the woman go in and out of consciousness.

"Soph, I know it's hard but you have to stay awake for me," Nate said.

Eliot turned a sharp turn. Hardison hacked the traffic lights to work in their favor. Eliot parked on the curb of a small one floor home. Eliot knocked on the garage. The large door started to go up and behind it was a small child. He frowned at the team.

"It's three in the morning," he murmured.

He lead them to the basement where his mom was. Nate sat Sophie down on the bed, while the trio took a seat in one of the chairs upstairs in the living room. Then they all waited in the living room for the surgeon to come from the basement.

Parker shifted in her seat. She didn't want to think about if she killed the woman. Sophie was her friend and she stabbed her. Parker pulled her legs up and played with the hem to her sweatshirt. She frowned. It was still wet from puking on it. The young boy handed the team something to drink.

Parker poked his neck. He turned towards her, frowning.

"Where's the bathroom?" She asked him.

The young boy raised an eyebrow and pointed to the door next to the kitchen.

"That door doesn't lead to a closet," he said with agitation. Parker grabbed the hoodie she brought in. "Jeez, waking me up at three in the morning like I don't have school tomorrow," he mumbled to himself as he took a can of pop upstairs to his room.

Ryan came up a few hours later. "She's conscious."

The four went down stairs to see their grifter. Sophie was already unhooking all the machines connected to her. Parker stared at the woman.

"Hey, honey," Sophie said to the blonde as she ripped out the IV.

Parker looked at her feet, giving the woman a small nod to acknowledge that she was listening. Eliot handed the clothes over to Nate, and the mastermind walked over to Sophie. He smirked.

"Thanks to the bandage, she only lost a small amount of blood. I was able to stitch up the wound pretty quickly since it wasn't that deep. Sophie, you should still take it easy for a while. I'll get some pain meds," Ryan said then went upstairs to get the pills.

Parker played with her hands. "I-I didn't mean to," she muttered.

"I know. It was an accident. Accidents happen, Parker."

Parker shook her head. "I didn't break one of your vases. I stabbed you in the stomach with a knife. I-I keep hurting you, Sophie," she looked back down at her shoes. "I want to go back to my warehouse."

"Parker, I don't think that's a good idea," Nate said. "That's where they took you and they could be there waiting for you. We can't risk it."

"You and Hardison went back there and nothing happened to you."

Nate frowned. "Parker, we didn't stay there for hours and we made sure no one was following us. We can't risk them taking you again or worse."

"Then where can I go? I don't want to stay with Sophie anymore if I'm going to hurt her."

"We will figure it out," Hardison chimed in.

Parker groaned when her head started to hurt. "Can we leave now?"

Ryan came back down with the pills and handed them to Sophie. "This should help."

"Thanks, Ryan," Eliot grinned down at the petite woman.

"A private could've stitched it up. Why you didn't do it?"

Eliot shrugged. "Had a lot of things going on at once," he pulled the woman to the side. "I was wondering if you could run a name for me at interpol and see if you can find him anywhere on the database."

Ryan nodded. "Of course. Who are you looking for?"

"His name is Liam Sparrow's."

Ryan nodded. "Alright, I'll pull some strings. You have a photo of him?"

"No, all I have is a name."

Ryan wrote the name down. "It took me forever to get Oliver to bed."

"He was pretty pissed when he answered the door. Tough day at school?"

Ryan scoffed. "Yeah, Caleb bailed again. His dad was supposed to pick him up this weekend but I guess 'money' got in the way."

"I can talk to him."

She shook her head. "Don't need any reason for him to take custody."

Sophie groaned as she got up. "May I go use your bathroom?" Sophie asked.

Ryan showed her upstairs. Once the British grifter finished getting dressed they headed to headquarters. Parker insisted on riding up front with Eliot.

Hardison set his laptop down on the table and clicked the screen.

"I searched facial recognition against the sketches Parker provided and got six hits."

Parker looked at him confused, sitting closely next to him. "Six? There's only three of them not including the mark."

"I know so I was wondering if any of them looked familiar."

He pulled up the six photos. Two girls, and four guys. Parker looked over the photo's. She swallowed hard and held her stomach to control her nausea. Sophie sat down next to the girl and gripped her hand comfortingly, but Parker flinched away.

"Sky Jameson," she pointed to the second freckled face woman. "Then the kid, Hunter Mason," she paused at the name, "And the first red hair guy, Jase Mason."

Eliot glared at the faces. These were the people who caused the thief pain, tortured her. Eliot quietly thought about the things he was going to do to them when they found them.

Hardison pulled up the file. "Sky Jameson. A Thirty two, five foot hundred forty pound woman. She has been in and out of asylums since she was five. She was released when she turned eighteen and her record was sealed. Then she was suspected for sexually abusing one of her female piano students four years later but since there wasn't enough evidence it was dismissed. She then went to jail on another charge a month later for having sex with one of her sixteen year old male students. She only went to jail for seven years then got off a month early on good behavior. She then just went off the grid. Her paper trail went dead since."

"So, she's always been some twisted pervert," Nate said.

Hardison clicked on the next photo. "Hunter Mason, eighteen. Five eleven one hundred sixty pounds. There's nothing much on him. Petty theft and being a little peeping tom but other than that he's clean. His brother, on the other hand, not so much. Jase Mason, thirty five. One hundred ninety pound male. He was suspected of being the serial rapist of nine college students but the students dropped the charges. One of them went missing and they later found her a month later. They found his DNA on the girl and he went to jail for rape and kidnapping. He just got out three years ago. Just like Sky they both dropped off the grid."

Parker stared fearfully at the people's faces like they were going to come alive.


	8. Bias and Humiliation

_**Thanks to my beta who's helping me out a lot with the story I actually have the ending for Vilify, which is coming up soon.**_

* * *

"You okay, Parker?" Sophie asked. Parker nodded and played with the hem of her hoodie. "How do any of them know our mark?"

"I don't know. They could've met him off the grid."

Parker gripped her shirt. "So, we will never find them?"

Eliot's phone buzzed. "We will," he said, sending the information to Hardison's laptop. Liam Sparrow's face filled the screen and the blonde's face went pale. "My navy friend Ryan found something."

Hardison pulled up the hidden files on the man,and his accomplices. "The three of them seemed to work for the mark. He hired them a week before we even heard of him."

"So, do they know us? Did you tell them something?" Eliot asked the blonde.

Parker shifted. "I blew my cover," she played with her hands.

"It happens. We blew cover many of times."

Eliot reached out to comfort her but she flinched away. "No, Eliot. They know who we are because I didn't stop them. I could've fought them but I didn't because I was scared. I ruined everything."

"Parker, it's okay. If you fought them then they would've killed you," Sophie said.

Parker shrugged. "I should've fought them then," she whispered to herself.

Everyone stared at her. "Do you know where they are?" Sophie asked, trying to change the subject.

Hardison nodded and pulled up the last known addresses. "We have an apartment for the two brothers, and condo for the girl. But neither of them owns a farm house. Did they ever leave, Parker?"

The young thief shook her head.

Eliot jumped up. "Send the addresses to my phone."

"C-Can I come with you?" Parker asked.

"No, Parker. We can't have you getting hurt. Sophie and I will stay with you just in case they come here. Hardison, go with Eliot."

Parker sighed. She sat down on the couch with Sophie as the two guys left.

Eliot drove his truck to the Mason's address. Eliot scanned the lot. No one was in sight. The two guys walked up to the crumbling apartment. They walked up the vacant stairs to the third floor. Eliot stepped in front of Hardison, and started to picked the lock, picking up a few little things from watching Parker.

Eliot searched the room for any signs of the brothers but just like the rest of the building it was vacant. He rummaged through the rest of the apartment. Hardison found a laptop, easily unlocking it, he looked through the files.

"Nothing. It's like they knew we would come. This is professionally wiped. There's nothing at all. No photos, history, nothing," Hardison says disappointedly.

Eliot came out of the room. "Same as the rest of the apartment. Everything that would suggest that someone was actually living here is gone," the man punched through a wall. "These idiots are probably taking another girl or finding their way back to Parker and we have nothing. Nothing that would lead us to them."

Hardison placed the computer next to him. "What do you think they did to her?"

"Hardison, just be happy that she's here alive. They could've killed her but they didn't."

Hardison sighed. "What's the difference? She's more broken than she was when we met her. They did things to her, Eliot."

The hitter hit him in the shoulder. "And we will fix her just like we fixed her the last time. Soon she'll be back to the crazy weird Parker. Come on we have another place to search."

They both put everything back where they found it and left the building. Eliot drove down to Sky's condo and stopped a few blocks down when a car pulled up next to them with a driver resembling the woman they were looking for. They sat in the van watching her, waiting an hour until she was comfortable in the house. Hardison knocked on the door and she answered.

"What?" she asked.

Eliot pushed into the house closing the door. "Are you Sky Jameson?"

"No," she lied.

Eliot shoved her down onto the couch. "Don't mess with me. Answer me!"

"Yes, I'm Sky. What do you want?"

Hardison looked around the room for anyone but the three were alone.

"Do you know an Alice White?" she looked at him confused. "A Parker?" her face went dead. She started to get up but he slammed her back down. "Where's the rest of your team?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Eliot frowned. He pulled her up by her shirt and pushed her against the wall.

"Don't lie to me. Where is your team?"

She pulled at his arm. "I don't know, I swear. They told me to stay at my condo until they came back."

"Where did they go?" She shrugged again. He frowned and dropped her to the floor. "I hope you're not lying to me because if I find out that you are I will do the exact same things to you that you did to Parker."

She smirked. "I bet you would."

Eliot yanked her up by her hair. "Don't think I won't hurt you."

"Let go of me!" she yelled. Eliot pushed her on the couch and got on top of her. Hardison attention turned. "Get off of me!" she cried.

"That's what Parker said. Didn't she!" he yelled at her.

Hardison sadly looked at the woman. He didn't want to think about what happened to his frail thief. Hardison got on the computer and searched the entire database but just like the brothers' it was wiped clean.

"I'm sorry. It was Liam. He told us to do it. We had to or he'll kill us."

Eliot put her hand above her head while she squirmed to get away. "You raped her. You tortured her, and you're telling me you couldn't once stop it? Never could you tell them to stop. Never could've you tell Liam that you didn't want to join his team?" Sky stayed silent. "Answer me!"

"Did they tell you anything?" Hardison asked.

She turned to him. "They just told me to wait here. They said they were going to be right back."

Eliot glared at the woman. "What's stopping me from snapping your neck right now?"

"I-I can give you information. I can help you find them."

Eliot shook his head. "And then what's going to happen to you? You get to go free?" she unconsciously nodded. "No, you're going to give us the information and I'll consider not killing you."

Eliot got off the brunette and forced her into their car. The woman sat in the middle seat as they drove back to headquarters. They already told Sophie to get Parker out of the apartment so the blonde wouldn't have to face the woman but Eliot knew that the thief was still there. She wasn't going to leave.

Eliot dragged the woman by her arm into the building.

Sophie rubbed the thief's back as the door opened. Parker trembled when she saw the woman. Sky stared at the girl for a moment but then looked down. Parker's breathing picked up.

"Now you can't look at me!" Parker yelled. "When you were doing things to me you had the power and now since the roles are reversed you can't even look at me!"

Sky frowned. "What? Are you now going to inflict the things on me that I did to you? There's no difference between me and you then. You could've gotten up and left but you didn't."

"I-I couldn't leave. You know what they would have done to me if I even moved an inch from where they had me."

"Who do you really want to get your revenge on? Because we both know it is not me. Oh, you cried like a baby every time Liam came back from his job. You want me to tell them what happened in that barn?"

"So, you was lying about not knowing anything?" Eliot chimed in.

Sky moved inches away from the man. "No. I-I...they're just too good of a team to be caught."

Parker sighed. Memories of what the woman did to her ran through her mind. "No, no. Sophie!" Parker cried when the voices became louder.

Eliot sighed. "Sky, let's go," he said.

The grifter took the blonde back to her place. Parker laid across the couch and stared at the wall where her box was. Sophie sat down in the chair next to her. She watched as the girl's face went dead.

"Do you want to go out, we can go steal something?" Parker shook her head. "What about going to see the doctor? I'm pretty sure Hardison might have some identities we can use. We can go see if everything is okay?"

Parker frowned. "I'm not going to get pregnant."

"That's not what I meant. They could've given you something."

Parker shrugged. "I don't care."

"Why not?" the blonde shrugged again. "I'm going to go make something to eat. I'll be right back."

Parker didn't acknowledge her. Sophie joined Nate. He was looking for something to clean up the blood and vomit from the carpet.

"I thought you were watching Parker?"

Sophie sat down at the island and put her face in her hands. Nate took a seat next to her and started to rub her back soothingly. She fell into his chest crying.

"I don't know if I can handle this," she said in between her cries.

He ran his fingers through her hair. "It's okay. Everything is going to be okay."

"You don't know that. She could do anything. Parker was already spontaneous when she wasn't emotional now try to think what she might do when she is. She tried to stab me, Nate. What will we do if she turn that anger onto herself?"

"Soph," he pulled her away from him so they were face to face, "Why don't you go take a shower while I watch Parker? Then after your shower take a break and read your favorite book or watch some TV. Just spend some time alone, okay?"

"Weren't you looking for something?"

He shook his head. "I can do it later."

"Are you sure you don't want me to help?" Nate nodded. "I'll only be gone for an hour. I promise."

"Spend as long as you want," he told her as he kissed her forehead.

Sophie went into her room, while Nate sat in the chair in front of Parker. The thief looked up at him.

"Where's Sophie?" she asked.

"She's just going to go take a shower. She'll be right back but I thought I can spend some time with you, if that's okay," Parker turned back to the wall. "What were you and Sophie talking about?"

"She was asking about taking me to the doctor."

Nate focused on her body language. "You don't want to go?" she shook her head. "Why not?"

Parker stared at him. She knew he was trying to read her. "I don't care if I die."


	9. Ryan

"Why do you want to die?"

Parker paused at the question. There was many reason why she wanted to die. Many are too personal to blantly tell the mastermind. "I don't want to talk about it."

He looked at her sadly, "What about talking to a professional about it?"

Parker shook her head. "No, no. I don't want to talk to someone who's paid to care about what happened."

"If you talk to someone it will help you deal with what happened. To control your anger towards this."

"I'm not angry. I'm frustrated. People keep talking about this when I don't want to. This isn't the first time this has happened, but this time I'll make sure it's the last," she whispered the last sentence to herself.

"Parker, hurting yourself will not help you. It will only hurt you,"

"No, it helps ease the pain. It's like. . .when Sam died, how did you feel?"

"Parker, there's a difference," his voice rose.

Parker shifted, pulling herself into a protective ball. "I-I'm sorry."

"Parker, don't apologize. You just asked a question," she nodded in agreement but kept herself in a ball. "I felt numb. I felt like someone stole everything that I was," he said as he tried to stifle his emotion.

"What helped you?"

"Sophie, and what we do. I still feel empty when things remind me of him but thanks to Sophie I can deal with it."

"Alcohol helped you," she said bluntly, "It helped eased the pain when Sophie or the job weren't there. Hurting myself is my alcohol."

Nate shook his head. "Parker, it will only numb the pain for so long but slowly everything will eat up at you."

"That's what I'm trying to accomplish."

"What about Hardison or Sophie? Eliot, me? We really care about you and we will miss you. Are you just going to leave us behind?"

Parker played with her hands. "I just want this all to be over. I want to forget all of it," she blinked away her tears.

"Parker, if you talk to someone they might be able to help you cope with this. Ending your life. . .you can't leave us behind."

Parker laid across the couch, facing away from the man. "Can you leave me alone, please."

Nate nodded. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

Parker grabbed her bunny and then sat back down on the couch. Sky's voice rang in her ears and images of what the woman had done ran through Parker's mind. Parker whimpered as a headache started to form.

I need to. I need to ease the pain. I have to. Parker thought.

She got up and crept into the bathroom. She grabbed the sharpest thing she could find and then crawled into one of Sophie's vents. Parker looked at the razor sadly. She placed the blade towards her wrists.

"Parker!" Nate shouted.

The blonde shoved the blade in the pocket of her hoodie. She got out of the vent and walked into the front room. Nate raised an eyebrow.

"Where did you go?"

She pointed to the vent. "I just wanted to be alone. I told you to leave."

Parker sat down on the couch, glaring lividly at the man. She could've been fine right now if he hadn't interrupt. She curled herself back in ball. He watched her closely until Sophie came back into the room. The grifter noticed the blonde in a protective position.

Sophie turned to Nate. "What happened?" she gritted.

Nate continued to watch Parker in case she tried to grab something to hurt herself, or someone else with. "I don't know. She was hiding in the air vent."

"Can I come over there with you?" Sophie asked and the young blonde nodded. Sophie sat down in front of the thief. "Parker, you know hurting yourself won't make the flashbacks go away?"

Parker pulled herself tighter. "It helps. It puts the pain somewhere else instead of it hurting. . .everywhere else."

"Maybe you should get yourself checked out then. Just to make sure everywhere else is okay."

Parker trembled at the thought, "I don't want anyone to touch me."

"If you feel more comfortable I can go with you."

Once Parker agreed, Nate called Hardison. "Hey, can we get some new identities for Parker and Sophie?" he waited for the man to respond. "Just something that will hold up for a hospital visit." Parker heard the hacker's concerned response. "She's fine. We're just going to take her to for an appointment." Hardison started on the identities. "Thanks."

Sophie smiled at the blonde and extended her hand so the thief could take it. Parker gave her a weak smile and took her hand.

Hardison texted Sophie the new identities. "I'll make an appointment." Sophie said, sitting them down on the couch and then called the nearest clinic. "Yeah, can I make a gynecologist visit for a Robin Keenan?"

Parker played with her sneakers. "Can I bring bunny?"

Sophie nodded to the blonde's question. "Yeah, my name is Emily Blake. I'm a friend of Robin." The woman on the other end wrote the names down. "I'll fax over everything now."

Sophie hung up the phone. Parker grabbed the rabbit from the bathroom and stood near the door. "Is it okay if y-you wait outside when we're at the doctors?" Parker asked.

"Yeah, of course. I'll just wait in the waiting room while the doctor is with you."

Parker played with her bunny. "Can we go now? I just want to get this over with already."

Sophie grabbed the keys to her car and the two drove down to the local clinic. Parker trembled in the seat as Sophie held her hand. Parker jumped at the sound of one of the kids from the play area dropping a toy truck.

"It'll be over soon," Sophie tried to comfort her.

Parker held her bunny's head tighter. "Why won't they call the stupid name already."

"Robin Keenan, Parker. You have to remember that," Sophie whispered. "My name is Emily Blake. I work at an office. My boss is a hot—"

"What are you doing?" Parker interrupted, staring at her.

"I'm trying to give a background to my character so I can connect more to her. You try, just pretend like you're making up a character for a story you're writing."

Parker held her bunny. "C-Can I have it like my own background?"

"Yeah, that would make it better."

"Robin, like Batman and Robin. Jeez, Hardison," Parker sighed. "Her dad was sent to jail and her mom didn't want her because Robin was the reason her father was sent to jail. She was put in foster care after her mom committed suicide when she found out her husband died in jail."

Sophie knew better than to give her sympathy. Parker would take that response as if Sophie thought of her as being weak. "Try relating Robin to yourself by saying 'I' instead of 'she'."

"I was in foster care since I was seven with my brother Nick. A year later my foster dad ran him over with a car. I was shipped to bad homes to the worse. If I was lucky I would get to have a nice foster family for a while but I would hurt them, and I would have to leave again. The foster parents weren't nice. They hurt me."

"Robin Keenan," the nurse from the front desk called.

Parker jumped up. Sophie got up, putting a hand on her shoulder. "No, stabbing. Okay?" Parker nodded.

A nurse showed the two of them to the doctor's office. Parker went inside the office while Sophie waited in the nearby waiting room. Sophie smiled at the doctor. The woman handed Parker a robe, then went to where Sophie was waiting.

"Hi, I'm Hana. You're a friend of Robin?"

Sophie nodded. "Yes, Emily. Robin is very sensitive to people touching her, so can you somehow be gentle."

"Do you mind me asking why she's like that?"

Sophie turned to the door where the blonde was. "I think she should talk to you about it."

Parker came out in the gown. "I-I'm ready."

Dr. Hana Collins showed the thief back into the office. Sophie nervously looked at the clock. Twelve pm. She picked at her nails.

What if Parker has a panic attack and stabs someone again? Or they gave her a life threatening diseases.

Sophie sighed. "Stop worrying, Sophie. Parker will be fine. She's Parker. Everything is going to be okay."

The grifter waited anxiously until Parker came out the office with Dr. Collins. Parker was staring at her feet. It made the motherly brunette even more worried.

"Did everything go okay?" Sophie asked.

Dr. Collins stared at Parker, waiting for her to say something but the blonde was silent. "Yeah, everything was fine. I can send the blood down to our labs and we will know if she has any STD's."

Parker sighed. "Can we go now?"

Sophie nodded. "Yes, of course. Just let me talk to the doctor for moment." Parker hesitantly sat down. "What happened?" Sophie asked the doctor.

"She was a little nervous but she didn't freak out as I expected her to."

"Did you do a pregnancy test?" Sophie asked, looking over at Parker to make sure she was okay.

"Yes, Robin asked for one. She was negative."

Sophie thanked the doctor and walked with Parker out to her car. Sophie's phone buzzed. She looked down at the message and pulled up to headquarters.

"Why are we at Nate's place?" Parker asked.

Sophie unbuckled her seatbelt. "Eliot's back with some information."

"Who's with Sky?"

"She's with Nate and Hardison." Sophie got out of the car.

Tension released from the young girl and the two of them took the elevator up to headquarters. Sophie opened up the door with her key. Parker warily approached the couch where Eliot was talking to a brunette. Ryan turned around.

"Hey, your name is Parker, right?" Parker nodded, her body was trembling. "Well, my name is Ryan. Do you remember me?" The thief's head went up and down again. "You okay?"

"Why are you here?" Parker asked.

Ryan shrugged. "Me and Eliot sometimes hangout. What you want him all to yourself?" Ryan joked.

Parker scrunched up her face. "Ew, he's Eliot."

"You don't mind me being here do you?"

"I guess not."

Ryan smiled. "Do you want to join us?"

Eliot and Sophie stared at the blonde. Parker played with the blade in her pocket and nodded.


	10. Remedy

She sat across from the surgeon on the arm of Eliot's favorite seat while Sophie sat down in it. Ryan turned to Eliot.

"So, are you going to make us some food or let us starve?" Ryan asked.

"Sure, what do you guys want?" he got up from the couch.

Parker smiled. "Macaroni and hamburgers."

Eliot frowned but nodded. "I'm going to make it with vegetables in it," he mumbled to himself so the blonde wouldn't refuse to eat.

"D-Did Eliot tell you anything?" Parker asked Ryan.

Ryan sipped some of the wine she had on the table. "You have to be more specific."

Parker shifted. She didn't want anyone else to know about what happened to her. It was already bad enough that the team knew. She could already tell that they were treating her differently.

"Nevermind," Parker muttered.

Ryan nodded. "It's personal, I'm assuming," Parker didn't react to the statement. "I get it. Things happen in life that are just too terrifying to speak of," Ryan face saddened.

Parker played with her bunny. "Yes."

"That's a cute stuffed animal. How long have you had it?" Ryan asked.

Parker frowned. My bunny. Parker thought. She hid her bunny—protectively—in her hoodie and got up to check on Eliot. She glared at Ryan, playing with the blade in her pocket as she took a seat in the kitchen. Eliot was focused on his food. Parker still didn't understand why he liked food so much. Maybe it's like her and stealing.

"Are you finished yet?" Parker whined.

Eliot smiled. "Does it look like I'm finished?" Parker huffed. "What's wrong?"

"I'm hungry. Hurry up," he handed her the snack he made, knowing she'd be too impatient to wait.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. So, how did the doctor visit go?"

Parker shrugged. "My new doctor says she won't have the STD test back for a few days."

"Did everything check out?" Parker nodded. "Do you mind me asking if you're pregnant?"

"No, I was negative. They made me take the pill and they wore condoms, but I still wanted to be sure," Parker played with her bunny's ears sadly, trying not to think about what happened.

Eliot didn't want to see her face. He knew what expression she had and he didn't want to see it.

"What about the other doctor? Did Sophie take you to see someone to talk to?"

Parker shook her head. "I don't want to."

"Why not?"

She finished her fruit kabob. She placed the stick in the trash and hovered behind the hitter.

"I don't need to talk to anyone," Parker examined the food. She frowned, her brows furrowing, "What's that green stuff?"

Eliot swatted her away. "Parker, go sit down. You're in my way."

"I don't want that on my burger," She called back as she sat back down at the counter.

"Parker, you've always liked what I've cooked for you, haven't you?" she nodded. He continued with the conversation they were having before she interrupted. "Parker, stabbing people is not something normal people do and Sophie isn't the first person you've stabbed."

Parker nodded. "It was a reflex. I won't do it again."

"How do you know that? What if someone makes you scared or mad? Or you start hearing the voices again and picture one of us as Liam or his team, then what?"

Parker pulled her legs up. "I won't."

"How do you know that?"

She gripped the sharp blade tight enough for it not to fall out of her pocket. "Because I just know, Eliot."

"Did you know you were going to stab Sophie?"

Parker buried her face in her knees. "Stop bringing that up. It was an accident. I didn't mean to."

"I know, Parker but this can't happen again. The next time you might do more than hurt someone. You might kill them."

Parker shook her head. He was making her seem like a monster. Like a different person. "No, I'm fine. Just leave me alone," her voice cracked.

"Parker, if you talk to someone about this they might know how to handle this better than you do. They might even help make the voices stop completely."

Parker looked up at him. "Or they might increase them."

"You won't know that unless you actually talk to someone," Eliot blended the cheese with the pasta.

"You don't understand, Eliot. If I go there they're going to make me talk about it. About all of it and I don't think I can. I tried hard to bury the images. I don't want to have to dig them back up. I can't. You didn't go to therapy for all your issues Mr. Punchy and you turned out fine."

Eliot grabbed four bowls and four plates. He placed them down in front of their seats with the silverware.

"I went to therapy," he saw the way she was staring at him. "Someone in my unit helped me a lot with everything. It can help, Parker because if I gave in to the voices and the nightmares, I was giving people I didn't even like way too much control over my own life. I was allowing them to hurt me by forcing me to do things I didn't want to do—to become someone I didn't want to be," Eliot sullenly admitted.

Parker brought out her bunny, cuddling it tightly. "You're stronger than me. I don't know if I'll be strong enough to do it."

"Just think about it, okay? Promise me you'll try. I know you're strong enough, but if you think you aren't, you can always borrow some strength from me."

What does he know? I can't just borrow his strength. . .well I don't think I can. It's better to die than to suffer. If I stay here there's no guarantee that all my problems will go away. The therapist probably won't even know how to help me. I'm not like everyone else. I don't have happy memories about my family where I can escape to. Everyone else had parents who loved them. I was stuck with a mom who wished I was dead, and a dad. . .No, no, no that's bad. He's bad. He's a bad man. Monsters stay under the bed, Parker. You can't check under your bed.

Parker nodded, ducking her head so he wouldn't see the tears that had started. "All right. I'll try."

"You okay over there?" Eliot asked. "You're crying."

She wiped her tears and nodded. "I'm fine."

"Were you thinking about it again?" Parker didn't want to nod. It would just give him more reasons to take her to see someone. "Maybe we should train to get your mind off of it. Ryan's one of my sparring partners and I'd like to work with you on a new technique, one that takes three people. It's actually better with four, but it works with three."

Parker's face lit up at the thought of training, and Eliot hadn't missed the way she relaxed slightly when he told her Ryan was there for training.

She nodded enthusiastically. "I'd like that, Eliot. Thank you."

He finished placing the food on everyone's plates. "The food's ready," Eliot called out to Sophie and Ryan.

Sophie sat next to Parker while Eliot took the end seat. Ryan sat down next to the hitter and started to eat. Parker looked down at the food. Everyone else was eating but the thought of something going down made her want to throw it up. She pushed the plate away.

"I'm not feeling well," Parker said.

Sophie wiped her face with a napkin. "Maybe cause you haven't eaten anything. At least have some macaroni."

Parker slumped, poking the food with her spoon. "I'm not hungry anymore."

"You're the one who asked for it," Eliot said after taking a bite of his hamburger.

"If you're not hungry then drink something," Sophie said.

Parker shook her head. "I don't want anything," Parker pulled out bunny.

Ryan slurped up some of the cheese. "What's making you feel sick?"

Parker shrugged. She didn't know this woman, why was she so interested in her? Even though she seemed nice Parker didn't want to trust her.

"I don't know," Parker lied.

Ryan continued to eat her food. "Well, if you don't tell us then how are we supposed to help you?"

"Why would you want to help me?" Parker asked.

"Parker," Eliot said. "You won't have the energy to train with Ryan and I if you don't eat something. Tonight's training will be rather intense."

Parker turned to the woman. "Cool, you know some moves?"

"Of course, that's why I'm here," Ryan said.

Parker looked down at the food. She picked up her burger, took a bite and then dropped the rest of the burger back on her plate. She did eat a bit of the macaroni—enough to satisfy Eliot, at least. Once everyone was finished Eliot put the dishes in the sink then Sophie offered to wash them so the three could go train.

"Ladies, if you'll follow me," Eliot smiled his charming smile.

The thief had been hugging bunny all through dinner, and now she placed him carefully on the sofa, turning on the tv to keep him company. "I'll be right back."


	11. Pain and Closure

_**The final chapter of Vilify. Completed it thanks to Gilbert H. Karr, who helped a lot. **_

_**So, enjoy the last chapter.**_

* * *

She followed Eliot and his friend into the back bedroom, which Eliot had set up as a small training space.

They had just walked into the room when, without warning, Eliot tackled Parker and took her feet out from under her. She hit hard and sat still for a moment, stunned. A moment later, Ryan joined the fray. After half an hour, and a number of jabs and blows, the fighting stopped, and Eliot let Parker catch her breath. When she had rested for a few minutes, he said, "Parker, I want you to spend the next few minutes working on your forms and katas, while Ryan and I spar for a while. Then, I have a surprise for you."

Parker moved over to work in front of the mirror. She knew Eliot would want to watch in a few minutes, and he was a stickler for technique. She wanted it to be exactly right. She shut out the thuds and thunks and grunts and groans coming from behind her, as she worked. A few minutes later, the controlled explosion that was Ryan and Eliot stopped as suddenly as it started, and the two of them sank to the ground, side by side, out of breath. When they had recovered enough to speak, Eliot jumped to his feet, and held out his hand to Ryan, helping her stand. Moving over to Parker, the two of them watched Parker do her forms and katas, instructing her on technique and how to increase her speed.

Their hearts were all beating normally again, so Eliot looked at Ryan, and she said, "What did you have in mind?"

"Blind man's bluff, martial arts style."

"I think she's ready."

Eliot slipped another bandana out of his pocket, and tied it securely around Parker's eyes. "This is an exercise that requires you to use all of your senses, except sight. It teaches you to anticipate blows and strikes before they come. It's kind of a slow motion sparring session, but blindfolded."

Parker wasn't sure about this, but she trusted Eliot, on the training floor at least. He had made it clear from the start that he would never hurt her here. Eliot signaled Ryan without speaking, and the floor exploded with movement again. An hour later, Ryan hit Eliot like an overgrown football, and they rolled across the floor together. They landed together in a heap, with Eliot on his stomach, and Ryan pinning his legs. A second after they came to a stop, she rolled off of him and sat up. As soon as he was free, Eliot also sat up, and glanced at Parker. She was so tired she could barely stand up. It had been every bit as intense a session as he had planned.

Pushing himself to his feet, he said, "I'm going to take a shower. Stay here and rest for a few minutes, then one of us, either Sophie or I will take you back to her place."

"Okay."

Ryan had moved over to the small, dorm sized refrigerator, and was rooting around in it. She withdrew two bottles of water, brought one over to Parker, and sank down on the floor beside her.

"Thanks," Parker said before drinking the bottle of water. She looked down at her hands, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. When she looked back up, Ryan was still watching her.

"You know," she said, "sometimes it's easier to talk about personal things with a stranger."

"I don't need to talk to anyone."

"I think you do."

Parker didn't answer and the two women were silent for a long moment.

Then Ryan made a quick decision. "When it happened to me, I didn't want to talk to anybody either. I just wanted to die."

"What?" Parker stared at her, shocked. Ryan laughed.

"Don't look so surprised. You aren't the only blonde to whom this has happened. I was a pretty blonde too, changed my entire life to try to make this go away," she chuckled. "A therapist getting raped by someone in her unit and then trying to make things go away by pretending that it didn't happened. The irony." Parker stared at the woman, not knowing if she should comfort her. "But that didn't help, hiding. Parker, when you've been through it, you can see it on others as plain as day. Believe me, it helps to talk about it."

Parker whimpered, trying to control her shaking. "I can't. It hurts to talk about it."

"It will hurt, but sometimes you just have to force yourself."

Parker shook her head. "No, this happened before. I was fine then and I'll be fine now."

"Were you really fine, or did you try to convince yourself that?" Parker pulled her legs to her chest. "How old were you?"

"Five. I didn't tell anyone until I was seven." Parker buried her face. "Please, I don't want to talk about this. He'll come back."

"Eliot?" Ryan asked.

Parker shook her head. "My father."

"But I thought you were fine, so you would've gotten rid of him." Ryan paused. She came closer, trying to make the thief uncomfortable to force her to face reality. "I bet he'll come back by simple words."

Parker put her hands in her pocket where the blade was. "No! He's gone. He can't come back."

"Really?" Ryan stood up. The woman was five ten while the small thief was only three inches smaller. "So, what did he use to say to you after he hurt you?"

Parker stood up, noticing the height difference. "Nothing, he didn't mean to do anything wrong. He loved me."

"Oh, so he use to say that he loved you even though he came into your room every night to show you the exact opposite."

Parker gripped the blade tighter. "No, he didn't mean to hurt me. He was sick. Mommy, told me that he was sorry."

"She didn't tell you that. She told you that you were making it all up that you were liar. That you were the one who was troubled."

"No, they're sorry. They loved me," Parker wept.

"He loved you way more than he was supposed to."

Parker shook her head. She kicked at the woman but Ryan blocked it. "Parker, it didn't help did it?" Ryan pushed.

"Yes it did!"

Parker continued to attack the woman. "He wasn't the only one was he?" Ryan asked. Parker stopped. "I bet he brought his friends over too and they did the exact same thing he did," the blonde took the blade from her pocket. "What are you going to do, stab me with a razor? Or better yet hurt yourself. Why won't you hurt them? Hit me, Parker!"

Parker dropped the blade and tackled Ryan to the ground. "Why did you hurt me!" she yelled.

Parker was about to punch what she assumed was her father but she stopped. Ryan took the opportunity to get on top of her.

"Are you really going to let me win?" Ryan taunted.

Parker cried. "Please, don't," Parker begged.

"Are you going to give up? Maybe you're right, you deserved everything that happened to you."

Parker's emotions went dead and her face went pale. The thief pushed the woman off of her and started kicking her in the stomach. She got on top of her and punched her in the face.

"I will kill you!" Parker yelled.

Parker punched her again. Ryan stopped her when she tried to go for a third. Parker crumbled. She got off the woman and started crying.

"It's going to be okay. You beat him, Parker. You win." Ryan said calmly.

Ryan comforted her until her crying died down. She pulled the fragile blonde away. Parker looked down at her hands. She didn't like to cry in front of others, but somehow she felt like it was okay.

"You don't have to talk about what happened until you're ready."

Parker stood up. "I w-w-want to. I'm ready to talk about it."


End file.
